Leaders call for redone Frontier Town to tie developments together
By Tim Rowland
A bit like anthropologists cutting away the jungle with machetes to reveal an ancient civilization, the Essex County Department of Public Works fired up chainsaws earlier this year to extract the bones of a decaying theme park that, for the past quarter century, has been rotting into the undergrowth.
To remedy this, and take advantage of an irreplaceable piece of history before it disappears, the county and the town of North Hudson are seeking up to $2 million from the state to help restore and revive elements of the old Frontier Town. It’s the one-time Adirondack attraction that delighted children and adults alike, with Wild West shootouts, railroad holdups and A-list performers such as Johnny Cash and June Carter, who arrived by plane at Frontier Town’s landing strip — one of the few pieces on infrastructure that didn’t hew to the 1880s.
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Many of the buildings — including the entirety of its once-colorful Main Street, along with the jail whose barred window was popular for family photo-ops — are too far gone to save. But some can be brought back from the brink, including a log chapel, grist mill, covered bridge and a working sawmill, still filled with machinery.
Cutting back the encroaching saplings and brush was critical to letting in drying sunlight and saving what could be saved, said North Hudson Supervisor Stephanie DeZalia.
At the heart of the former tourist destination was a rodeo arena, which DeZalia, who grew up in Schroon, recalls from her visits there, as well as vignettes from the acted shootouts between the law and the bandits. “I remember riding the train with robbers holding us up, and watching the bad guy getting dunked in the dunking pool,” she said.
Under plans drawn up by local governments and CPL Architecture, Engineering and Planning, DeZalia said an arena and grandstand would be built for horse shows, barrel racing, country music concerts and other Western themed events. The rustically picturesque chapel could be opened for weddings, and the mills could add a life-sized museum quality for vacationers and horseback riders staying at the nearby state-owned Frontier Town equestrian campground.
The Frontier Town theme park opened in 1952 and closed in 1998. The property became embroiled in litigation; maintenance of buildings ceased; taxes went unpaid; and the county foreclosed.
There things stood until then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $32 million “gateway” project off Exit 29 designed to introduce travelers to the southern side of the High Peaks, which receives considerably less traffic than Keene Valley to the north.
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Three projects have resulted. Investors developed the Paradox Brewery, and restored the iconic A-frame into a restaurant, camp store and event center. The state’s primary contribution has been the campground.
A problem though, said Essex County Supervisors Chair Shaun Gillilland, is that these developments represent three independent points on a triangle without connection. In the center of this triangle are the remnants of the old theme park, including about 200 county-owned acres.
“We want to blend this in with the other projects, so people will flow from the A-frame to the campground and brewery,” DeZalia said.
The state has shown flickering interest in the gateway project since Cuomo’s announcement. After the campground opened a state grant helped the A-frame complex’s owner reshingle the prodigious roof on the larger of two buildings, and included it as a stop on a emerging hiker-shuttle route.
But otherwise, Gillilland said he fears the region’s development is losing momentum, and the grand design may founder without county help.
The key to a successful equestrian campground, he said, is a robust trail system, something the Frontier Town campground lacks. Multi-use trails would be part of the rebuild. Phase I of the county plan includes the new arena, and Phase II would include more trails, with restoration of the Frontier Town buildings in Phase III. Ideally, when completed, the site would be sold to a private owner.
Gillilland said that the most popular sports in the equestrian community include trail riding, along with endurance riding and eventing, an equestrian triathlon including dressage, cross-country and jumping.
The county has hopes that riders will one day be able to access a planned trail system heading to the west toward Boreas Ponds. A snowmobile trail was originally planned connecting North Hudson with Newcomb, but it was part of a network that failed a court test for being too environmentally intrusive.
Gillilland said he’s talked to a number of riders in New York and Vermont, who have decried the general scarcity of equestrian facilities in the region. Trails into the eastern Adirondack interior would be appealing to riders, who could return for a bite at the A-frame before tying their mounts at the Paradox “saloon.”
“People could explore the old buildings, go out on the trails and ride their horses to Paradox. The county property is right in the middle of these projects, so to quote ‘The Big Lebowski,’ this is the rug that ties the room together,” Gillilland said. “We need it to keep this project moving forward.”
State, state, state! They already put in – what – $18m in the “Gateway” Frontier Town Campsite – turned into a campsite Boondoggle! Please let Frontier Town rest in peace!
Like so many other Adirondack Park projects, a “Money Pit”. Perhaps they can raise the Titanic and put it in the Park. At the NYS taxpayers expense of course.
Wait till they start dumping are money on Moriah Correctional
If it was such a hot attraction why did it fail ? I don’t know why the state keeps throwing money at this when there are real pressing needs in this area – someone is very persuasive at the state level. Just a few minutes ago I was reading about the DEC’s non compliance on new trails in the wilderness and yet here is someone proposing new equestrian trails. I do not live close to this prospective enhancement right off the Northway so I do not have a dog in this hunt. But seriously, why would anyone truck a horse up there to ride on some isolated trails close to a convenience store and a craft brewery? All the action is on the other side of the Northway.
spend how many tens of milions to restore a dead horse??? then sell to private??
I grew up and went to frontier town and absolutely loved it as a “kid”, but times changed and Frontier town died just like catskill game farm. state, county and town needs to stop wasting a fortune. the A-frame could not even support a mcdonalds.
a small horse riding area with a few miles of trails are not going to draw people to trailer and drive hours to ride a few hours of limited trails. something like a mountain bike trails would probably be more successful.
I grew up in Port Henry and worked at Frontier Town 3 years. I helped build the saw mill, robbed trains and stage coaches, helped at the rodeo, placed thousands of cardboard tags on car bumpers, bussed tables at the AFrame and did maintenance in the off-season.
It’s sad that it passed away over the years. Not sure it’s worth the cost to “renew” as I dont think people.today value that type of effort and would go there. I recently was in the area and stopped at the A Frame. Its beautiful.
Dale
If in the end Frontier Town is to be sold to a private partnership, it would prudent to survey potential private partners. I believe they would help discover the highest and best use. I’m sure the state would help with infrastructure so a private partner could build the attraction
Keep going!
My friends and I travel with our horses from Maryland and camp at the Otter Creek trail system in Glenfield, NY every year, so I would definitely travel to Essex County and stay at the equestrian campground if you had enough trails to ride. We always dine at the local restaurants, wineries, breweries and shop at the local grocery stores while we are camping. There just needs to be enough riding to make it worth driving for!
And we campers who live very close to the Otter Creek trails have to PAY while you horse people get free everything! SO WRONG
Please, stop the bleed! We need work on privy’s, parking lot potholes, Rangers in the field educating new campers.
A lot of short sited people in these comments that didn’t really read the article or understand it.
The focus on horseback riding was and is misguided, expensive and limiting a kind of romantic throwback to the Frontier origin story. I get why people gravitate to it, but it will never take off. The DEC campground if anything is more public competition for the private grounds that were already struggling in the region. The state had a proposal that would have been transformative but they misunderstood the amount of public money that it would take to make it real…so now you have what you have.
The “Governor’s Initiative ” spent money like a drunken sailor on the campground. The only winners were the contractors who billed the state.
Does anyone that has commented live in the area? Because I do! We would have the trails if it wasn’t for people like Peter Bauer. We would have the connector trails. With these trails, anyone could use them! In the summer months, horses, bikers, and hikers. And in the winter months, snowmobilers. Which would boost the economy of North Hudson and other towns. North Hudson is now, after 20+ years getting a growing economy back.
“C” the ADA will not allow new snowmobile trails, period. lawsuits were filed and won. any seedling over 1 inch tall is a Tree. every rider from newcomb wanted snowmobile trail from Newcomb to north hudson and long lake since snowmobiles were invented, but ride to north creek and no gas in Newcomb. but it can only be built over private land and likely no continuous strip reaches to either, too far and not likely to ever happen. creating any new trail over ADA land is a non stop legal battle by every wingnut who wants no one with disabilities or motorized interests to enjoy the park.
So connector trails will not happen AKA frontier town is a huge waste of taxpayers money, best spent in other ways. cant beat a dead horse into riding.
no new trails on park land, limited snowmobile use, no ATV, utv, limited areas to ride bicycles or ride horses. not even a lot of cross country ski trails even.
The locals in the Adirondacks complain endlessly and bitterly about taxes in NY State, and yet expect a steady stream of tax dollars to fund these types of dubious and unsustainable “economic development” projects. Trust me, if this was a viable and profitable initiative some developer would have bought it up years ago, and would have sent all the profits to New Jersey. And yes, I now live in the Adirondacks, but I was never able to make a living here – but that’s okay. There’s a big world out there.
We stayed at the campground in June last year. It’s a very nice campground, but the horse area looked like it had hardly ever been used. Walking around the campground, it was hard to believe that the state spent 25 million dollars on it. We checked out the old frontier town. Nature has pretty much reclaimed it. My opinion is that to repair or fix it up, would be a total waste of money. Spend our tax dollars on something of value.
If they build it, will they come? We drove through the campground in the mid-summer just to see it and there were maybe five sites occupied.
Interesting all the comments on wasting taxpayer money. NY wasted tons of money but this seems like something worth saving
honestly, frontier town is 95% rotted. if there was any real interest some one with money would of done something with it decades ago. the gas station was even closed for many years because it needed new fuel tanks and sales didnt really cover cost. the camp ground doesnt really have any water access, so mostly no one wants to camp there when there are many much nicer spots such as Newcomb campground, with boat launch, beachs, many nice areas to canoe and even horse riding trails way beyond frontier town. Santantoni nice place to ride horse and bike.
places with nice lakes and camp grounds are all over, frontier town cannot really complete.
If ny wants to spend money on needed things, more hospitals with emergency rooms. if a hiker, driver. skier, ect gets seriously hurt, well it cn be 2 hours to an emergency room in good weather, toss a good snow storm, 4 plus. heart attack and your likely to be better to take aspirin and cross your fingers.
My uncle Mac Anderson was the narrative there for many yrs an I have been there many times in the 80’s. I would love to see this open again!! I would absolutely bring my kids to experience what I did as a child..